Category Archives: Donald Trump

Coronavirus US live: death toll nears 80,000 as Trump rages over Russia

Posted on by

Precautions against Covid-19 infection have been stepped up at the White House but are hampered by the cramped and poorly ventilated conditions in the West Wing, Kevin Hassett, a special adviser to Donald Trump on the pandemic response, said on Sunday.

Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin has been talking to Fox News Sunday about the Trump administration’s attempts to reopen and restart the stalled US economy, and whether there will be another huge stimulus bill. Democrats who control the House want one of those but the White House doesn’t – that’s the short version.

The White House is “absolutely pushing for a payroll tax cut”, Mnuchin says. Most observers think that is a non-starter, because Democrats won’t let it. Payroll taxes, meaning deductions from regular paychecks, include funds for Social Security and Medicare, vital social benefits.

Related: US job losses have reached Great Depression levels. Did it have to be that way?

Continue reading...

Donald Trump says coronavirus will ‘go away without a vaccine’ – video

Posted on by

Donald Trump has asserted with no evidence that the coronavirus pandemic will 'go away without a vaccine'. Without mentioning specifics, he pointed to other viruses and flus that 'disappeared' before vaccines were created. 'They've never shown up again. They die, too. Like everything else, they die,' Trump said. 'It's going to go away. And we're not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time.'

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: entire Dynamo Dresden team quarantined, Russia infections near 200,000

Posted on by

Bundesliga suffers huge setback after footballers test positive; Belarus leader holds parade prompting safety concerns as other nations curb WW2 events; Russia records 10,000 new Covid-19 cases. Follow the latest updates

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 277,127 people since the outbreak first emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by news agency AFP.

At least 4,001,437 cases of coronavirus have been registered in 195 countries and territories. Of these, at least 1,312,900 are now considered recovered.

Key developments in the global coronavirus outbreak today include:

Continue reading...

Biden’s lead over Trump widens – but strain on his virtual campaign grows

Posted on by

Coronavirus has robbed the Democrat of his typical back-slapping approach as he faces growing scrutiny and a third-party challenge

The Tampa, Florida, rally for Joe Biden on Thursday evening began as it normally might have, before a once-in-a-century pandemic transformed all aspects of American life, including the presidential campaign. A local high school student recited the pledge of allegiance, a campaign organizer pleaded with supporters to volunteer and a local DJ spun R&B music between speakers.

But in a sign of how profoundly the coronavirus crisis has reshaped American politics, that was where the similarities ended.

Continue reading...

Trump says he’s ‘learned a lot from Richard Nixon’ during Fox interview – live

Posted on by

Trump’s mention of tapes in his extraordinary references, in a live phone call into Fox News, to how he learned from Richard Nixon is interesting, to say the least.

“When I fired Comey, you know what hit the fan,” Trump on Fox News. "I study history," including on Nixon.
"Of course, there was one difference. ... #1 he may have been guilty. And #2 he had tapes all over the place. I wasn’t guilty. I did nothing wrong. And there were no tapes.” https://t.co/xJIkEuPY7O

Trump tweeted: “James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”

The tweet, which if taken at face value would suggest Trump has been secretly taping White House meetings, came after the New York Times reported that he demanded “loyalty” from Comey in a private dinner held shortly after Trump took office.

Related: Trump threatens ex-FBI head Comey with possible 'tapes' of conversations

Here’s transcript of Trump’s full comments about Richard Nixon during his call in to Fox News this morning.

Here's the transcript of Trump's comments this morning about what he learned from Richard Nixon. (Of course, Trump did fire a bunch of people.) pic.twitter.com/Ltl8WKvTPe

Continue reading...

‘Somebody was stupid’: Trump pushes Wuhan coronavirus lab claim – video

Posted on by

Donald Trump has told reporters that 'something happened' when asked about the theory that the virus was released from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. 'Probably it was incompetence. Somebody was stupid,' he said during a meeting with the Texas governor, Greg Abbott. It comes after the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, claimed he had seen 'enormous evidence' that the virus had originated at the lab. No evidence has been produced. China has denied the claims.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus US live: press secretary defends Trump over blocking Fauci’s testimony – as it happened

Posted on by

A migrant detained at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in California has died from Covid-19, according to the ACLU.

“This is a terrible tragedy, and it was entirely predictable and preventable. For months, public health experts and corrections officials have warned that detention centers would be Petri dishes for the spread of Covid-19 — and a death trap for thousands of people in civil detention,” said Andrea Flores, the ACLU deputy director of immigration policy. “Unless ICE acts quickly to release far more people from detention, they will keep getting sick and many more will die,” she added.

Related: Coronavirus inevitable in prison-like US immigration centers, doctors say

Continue reading...

Venezuela: captured US mercenary describes failed plot to abduct Maduro – video

Posted on by

Luke Denman is shown on Venezuelan TV after being arrested. Denman was one of two American mercenaries apprehended after a failed attempt to topple Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

Denman claimed he was on a mission to seize control of Venezuela’s main airport in order to abduct its authoritarian leader – and he alleged that he was acting under the command of Donald Trump.

Continue reading...

Venezuela: captured US mercenary claims he planned to abduct Maduro

Posted on by

Luke Denman was one of two US citizens seized this week after what appears to have been a bungled bid to overthrow Maduro

An American mercenary captured after a bungled attempt to topple Nicolás Maduro has claimed he was on a mission to seize control of Venezuela’s main airport in order to abduct its leader – and he alleged that was acting under the command of Donald Trump.

Luke Denman was one of two US citizens seized by Venezuelan security forces this week after what appears to have been a catastrophically conceived bid to overthrow Maduro by sneaking into the South American country in a fleet of battered fishing boats.

Continue reading...

Trump reverses course and says White House coronavirus taskforce will stay

Posted on by

The White House appeared to be in fresh disarray on Wednesday as Donald Trump insisted that his coronavirus taskforce would remain in place – less than 24 hours after suggesting it would be disbanded.

Related: Coronavirus US live: Pelosi attacks Trump's focus on reopening and says 'death is not an economic motivator'

Continue reading...

Coronavirus US live: Pence says White House looking to wind down taskforce as death toll passes 70,000

Posted on by

Republican senator Lamar Alexander said that Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and House speaker Nancy Pelosi should accept Trump’s offer to make rapid coronavirus testing available to lawmakers.

“From a public health point of view, this is not mostly about protecting members of Congress. It is about protecting the people members might infect. Bringing 100 or 535 members from across the country to Washington, D.C.—a coronavirus hotspot—and then sending them home each weekend creates a highly efficient virus spreading machine,” Alexander said in a new statement.

My statement on COVID-19 testing for members of Congress.https://t.co/x3tjhVJsWo pic.twitter.com/ywRMZYye1c

Trump’s press secretary has responded to the vice president’s comments that the White House is looking to wind down the coronavirus task force in the coming weeks.

Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the White House would still be “involving medical experts” in decisions related to the coronavirus response.

Reporting on the task force is being misconstrued to suggest the White House is no longer involving medical experts. This is totally false.

President @realDonaldTrump will continue his data-driven approach towards safely re-opening.

Continue reading...

‘The House is a set-up’: Trump says Fauci to testify in Senate and urges US to reopen – video

Posted on by

The US president said the government's top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, would not testify in the House of Representatives but only before the Senate. He argued this was because 'the House is a set-up. The House is a bunch of Trump haters.'

He later said the US 'wants' and 'needs' to reopen amid the coronavirus outbreak

Continue reading...

Trump gives up on virus fight to focus on economic recovery – and re-election

Posted on by

With Covid-19 deaths set to almost double this month, the president is putting the stock market before lives, critics say

Donald Trump is effectively abandoning a public health strategy for the coronavirus pandemic and showing “clear willingness to trade lives for the Dow Jones”, critics say.

Related: Will Americans ever forgive Trump for his heartless lack of compassion? | Francine Prose

Continue reading...

Donald Trump denies link to Venezuela armed raid by US citizens

Posted on by
  • Trump: ‘It has nothing to do with our government’
  • Two US ‘mercenaries’ held after Caribbean coast attack foiled

Donald Trump has denied any involvement by the US government in what Venezuelan officials have called a failed armed incursion in the South American country that led to the capture of two American “mercenaries”.

The president made the comment to reporters at the White House after Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, announced that authorities there had detained two US citizens working with a US military veteran who has claimed responsibility for the foiled operation.

Continue reading...

California to reopen some businesses this week as lockdowns ease across US – as it happened

Posted on by

That’s all for today, thanks for following along. A recap of the day:

Senator Elizabeth Warren said today she believed Joe Biden’s comments on the sexual assault allegation were “credible and convincing”.

“I saw the reports of what Ms [Tara] Reade said, I saw an interview with vice-president Biden. I appreciate that the vice-president took a lot of questions, tough questions. And he answered them directly and respectfully. The vice-president’s answers were credible and convincing,” the senator and former presidential candidate said, according to a CNN reporter.

Related: Senate rejects Joe Biden's request to search for records on Tara Reade

Continue reading...

US daily coronavirus deaths reportedly projected to double to 3,000 by June

Posted on by

New York Times says it has obtained document that suggests administration expects daily death toll to rise throughout May

As Donald Trump proclaimed success in America’s fight against the coronavirus and continued to push for the US economy to reopen, it was reported on Monday that internal projections show the administration is expecting 3,000 deaths a day by 1 June.

Related: CNN's Don Lemon tells Trump to stop peddling 'crap' and 'conspiracy theories'

Continue reading...

US uses coronavirus to challenge Chinese Communist party’s grip on power

Posted on by

Trump administration portrays crisis as example of danger Beijing’s leadership poses to China and the world

The escalating row between Washington and Beijing over blame for the coronavirus pandemic is fast becoming a battle over the Chinese Communist party’s legitimacy, raising the stakes in an already fraught relationship.

In castigating Beijing for its failure to contain the outbreak, senior Trump administration officials have gone out of their way to portray the crisis as a deadly illustration of the threat that Communist party rule poses the Chinese people – and the world beyond.

Continue reading...

Trump’s wealthy friends look to cash in during coronavirus crisis

Posted on by

Watchdog groups say Trump’s close ties with donors and backers deserve scrutiny as trillions in federal funds are handed out

Fracking billionaire and Trump donor Harold Hamm was among an elite group of oil and gas executives who met with the president in early April to press for federal help, including access to big loans for businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. It prompted Trump afterwards to promise to “make funds available to these very important companies”.

Related: Trump erupts over poll slump and threatens to sue campaign manager

Continue reading...